The Universal Balence
by Guardian of Courage
Summary: A girl makes a wish that takes her, Basil and Dawson to the world of Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd century. Unfortunately, everyone has an opposite. Now they have to foil Ratigan and Moriarty while trying to discover how to return back home.
1. Chapter 1

Great Mouse Detective/Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century

The Space-Time Continuum Balence

Summary: A superhero makes a wish as her friend looks on. Then, she is facing Basil in a futuristic world. The catch, Ratigan came too and only Brittany has any clue what is happening. Great Mouse Detective/Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century Crossover.

**Chapter 1: The Wish**

_Ottawa, Canada. 2005._

Brittany Birch had just finished watching a marathon of her favorite mystery movies. Basically, the Great Mouse Detective and a few Sherlock Holmes movies. She looked over to her…well… I guess she could be considered a friend. Tiffany Phobia was gazing over at her with a look of annoyance.

"You're such a geek, you know that," Tiffany said. "Those films where so predictable."

"Oh, you're just trying to be cool, Tiffany," Brittany rolled her eyes. "Just cause the criminals are always caught in the end doesn't make those movies predictable. You're just mad cause they insult your profession."

"Well, it's true," the girl stammered irritably. "I am not as stupid a criminal as Ratigan and Moriarty. They suck!"

"What is it with you and your criminal thing?" Brittany was angry at Tiffany's attitude. "Besides you make a much better superhero that a crook."

"Figures a Guardian of Courage would say that." Tiffany was getting a little angry now. "But I still say they stink."

"Whatever." Brittany waved Tiffany off. "I'd still love to meet one of the characters. I wish we could go on an adventure like their adventure. It would be a great relief from what we usually fight."

Suddenly, Brittany began to glow and the world began to swirl around her. Suddenly, she was gone and the credits fell on no one.

_London, England. 1897. _

Basil and Dawson sat across from each other both reading newspapers.

"Imagine, Basil. Honored by the Queen herself." Then, Dawson noticed Basil was not listening. "Basil. Basil!" Basil looked up. "Don't you feel proud at such an honor."

"It's not that Dawson," Basil said as he sighed. "It's just that I cannot believe that he is finally gone. Don't make any mistake, I'm glad he is no longer among us, it's just that—"

Then Basil went quiet as he began to glow. Looking across the room, he saw Dawson begin to glow too. "Quick, Dawson, grab your bag. We are going somewhere." Basil ran over and put on his hat and cloak. Then he grabbed his violin and vanished. Dawson quickly snatched his Doctor's bag and followed involuntarily.

Mrs. Judson walked in and sighed. "Where have they gone this time? I go to all the trouble to make them tea and they go out on another case. Humph!"

And with those heated words, she left the room in a huff.

_London, England. Sometime in the 22__nd__ Century._

Brittany landed on her side and winced in pain. "They couldn't of configured this teleport to have me arrive standing?" Brittany asked irritably.

"Hello, miss," a familiar voice sounded behind her. "Are you alright?"

Brittany turned around to the person helping her up and gasped. It was Dawson.

"Careful, Dawson," Basil said as he walked up. "We don't want to shock the native."

"Wow, Basil! You were wrong." Brittany stared at the mouse that was her size. "I'm not a native. In fact, I made a wish and now we three seem to be here."

"I suppose you don't know where here is either then," Dawson said unhappily.

"Actually, we're in the 22nd Century," Brittany said as she recognized the setting from a cartoon called 'Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century'. "We need to find your counterpart, Sherlock Holmes. He should be able to help."

"Basil, who is she?" Dawson asked, perplexed.

"I have no idea, Dawson," Basil said, then leaned over and whispered, "She knows more than she lets on. Watch her. She could be the cause of this mess."

_In the Sewers…_

Inspector Beth Lestrade was tracking Fenwick through the dark sewers. The wayward geneticist had stole a valuable holodisk containing information even her boss, Grayson, did not know. That ugly thief had lost her and now she could only see darkness ahead of her.

"Where are you when I need you, Sherlock?" she groaned. "First you disappear and then Fenwick. Just my luck."

"Hello, Inspector," a croaking voice said behind her. "Thought you could catch me."

"Fenwick!" she yelled as she whipped around, "you ugly criminal! You're under arrest!"

Another ugly voice laughed as a large bat came into the light, "sure sweetheart. I'm so sure." The peg-legged bat rolled his eyes and raised his 19th century revolver. "Now follow Fenwick and no funny stuff."

"Bu…but…that's impossible," the inspector stammered. "No bat grows to that size, let alone talk!"

"You just wait, sweetheart," the bat grinned. "You think I'm big. Professor Ratigan is a lot bigger. Maybe he'll introduce ya to his cat." The bat laughed and Lestrade fell silent.

Lestrade began to walk forward and then yelled in surprise, "Holmes!"

"You!" Fenwick yelled in disgust. "Surrender…or the yardie gets it!"

"Oh, I think it shall be you who will be surrendering today, Fenwick," the detective said as he smiled confidently. "You see, I have Scotland Yard coming behind me. Leave the holodisk and Inspector Lestrade."

Fenwick looked like he was going to argue when Holmes raised his blaster. The sounds of approaching pursuit seemed to make up his mind for him. He threw Lestrade on the ground. He took a moment to grin at Holmes before he tossed the disk up and ran—carrying the bat with him.

"Let's get back, Lestrade," Holmes said as he helped her up. "It seems we have a mystery on our hands."

**Chapter 2: Suspicious Characters**

_At 221 Baker Street…_

Lestrade strode into the room and looked towards Watson. "Where's Holmes?"

"I have no idea, Lestrade," Watson said as he looked around again. "He left after listening to a police scanner. He wouldn't say a word of what he was doing."

"But I need to talk to him," Lestrade said exasperated. "Why does he do this to me? I need to reach him, Watson. A giant bat is on the loose."

"You can't be serious, Lestrade," Watson smiled. "A giant bat indeed."

Then, Lestrade's wrist communicator sounded. "Lestrade!" Chief Inspector Grayson's voice came in over the speaker, "get over to Big Ben. That detective of reported some 'suspicious characters' over that way. If you can call two giant mice and a girl suspicious." Grayson laughed and signed off.

"Two giant mice!" Lestrade sighed. "If I hadn't seen that bat…well, we'd better get going Watson."

_Big Ben…_

"I think we're lost," Brittany said to Basil. "And I thought I had a bad sense of direction."

"I know exactly where I'm going," Basil argued. "I'm just taking the old route by Big Ben."

"_Sure_ you are, Basil," Brittany rolled her eyes and turned to Dawson. "Dawson, surely you must see how lost we are. I see and _I'm_ not even a native."

Dawson merely stared at the mouse and human and shook his head. They were glaring at each other again. Then, a siren sounded and a man ran up with what looked like a red gun. Then a flying police car landed and out came Watson and Lestrade.

"Wow!" Brittany said to the man who had run up, "you're Sherlock Holmes."

"You're under arrest," Lestrade yelled as she ran up.

"Excuse me!" Brittany glared at the young police officer. "We haven't broken the law. I demand a writ of habeas corpus."

"What?" Lestrade was confused. "A writ of—"

"—Lestrade," Holmes cut her off, "I'm sure there is no need to arrest them. We merely need to question them about the bat."

"Did you just say bat?" Basil was suddenly more alert. "Did he have a crippled wing? Or a pegged leg?"

"He had both. I saw him."

"Ha ha!" Basil said in triumph. "So Fidget is behind this scheme. I should have known."

"Oh, you are so lame, Basil," Brittany told the mouse. "My wish brought us here. And I think it brought Fidget and Ratigan along as well."

"Nonsense, foolish girl. Ratigan is dead. I saw him fall myself," Basil argued.

"Did you find the body?" Brittany had a look of outrage. "If you didn't then he is only missing, legally. Someone's in denial."

"Please, everyone be quiet!" Lestrade said. "And I want to know about Ratigan. The bat mentioned him. Seemed like he's the boss."

Brittany smirked. "I told you."

"Now, now, Brittany." Dawson tried to stop the two fighting. "It could be a different Ratigan. It could even be his descendant."

"He was a _rat_, remember." Brittany gave them her 'think about it' look.

"Cut it out, already," Lestrade said, annoyed. "We need to work together if we want to find out what's going on."

"Yes. You're right Inspector." Brittany nodded. "We need to catch Ratigan before he joins Moriarty."

"How do you know about him?" Watson asked.

"I think it's time I explained."


	2. The Plan

Whoops. I forgot the disclaimer. Basically, I'm not making any money on this. All Great Mouse Detective and Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century characters are copyright and do not belong to me. Only Brittany, Tiffany and any other OC's I add belong to me.

Now, on with the fanfic.

**Chapter Three: The Plan**

The motley group of characters walked towards the police cruisers.

Dawson looked around in amazement. "Truly remarkable. Look, Basil, those…whatever they are, they can fly."

"They're flying cars, Dawson," Brittany told him. "Think horseless carriages." She looked thoughtful for a moment, then said, "hey! Can I drive?"

"I do not think that is a good idea." Basil looked nervous at the thought of getting into the …flying car with a novice girl. "You do not even know how to operate that…thing."

"Excuse me, but I know more about driving than you do. I already have my G-1." Brittany said with force.

"And what does a G-1 do?" Basil asked smugly, knowing she was lying.

"Enough, already!" Lestrade looked agitated enough to get them to shut up. "Unlike you two, I'd actually like to solve this case."

"Now, now, Lestrade," Holmes said. "I'm sure they mean no harm. Besides, I—for one—would like to know what on that holodisk interested Moriarty so much."

They all went in two police cruisers—Holmes, Brittany, and Basil were in one while Lestrade, Watson, and Dawson were in the other. Brittany was bored because all Basil and Holmes did was just think. That was, until they noticed that Brittany was driving.

"What are you doing, Brittany?!" Holmes reached instinctively for the wheel. "You could crash us!" Basil looked like he was going to be sick.

"Oh, don't be such a worrywart. I'm doing fine. See, here we are now." Brittany landed the flying vehicle in a futuristic Scotland Yard. "I told you I could drive."

Five minutes later, Grayson balked when he saw two giant mice and an unknown girl being led into his office by Holmes, Lestrade and Watson. "What?...How? Who are you people?"

"Chief Inspector Grayson, I presume." Basil held out his paw. "I am Basil of Baker street, detective. This is my associate, Dr. Dawson, and Brittany, who none of us know well."

"I'm Brittany Birch," Brittany spoke up. "I come from early 21st Century Canada, in case you were wondering. But enough about us. We need to see the files on that holodisk—"

"No!" Grayson yelled as he tried to snatch the disk. "That is sensitive security information. I can't just show it to everyone."

"Well, you are going to have to show us, Chief Inspector," Holmes pointed out. "I assure you we will be discrete. Now, Watson, if you would take the disk."

"My pleasure, Holmes," Watson said as he inserted the disk. He was silent for a moment, then said, "it appears to have been whipped. Wait. I've found something—"

"Watson!" Holmes cried as the droid fell down on the ground. "It's a virus! We have to help him!"

Lestrade bent over and shut Watson down. Looking at Holmes, she said, "I'm sorry, Holmes, but he'll have to stay like that while we get him cleaned."

"Will he be alright?" Holmes was distraught. "Oh, Watson, I'm so sorry."

Tiffany looked over at Ratigan and rolled her eyes. The rat was trying to be devious again—and failing miserably, in her opinion. She was glad when Fenwick and Fidget entered the lair.

"Where's the boss?" Fenwick asked her.

"The boss is right there" Fidget said as he pointed to Ratigan.

"You idiot." Fenwick scowled. "I mean my boss, Moriarty. That ra…rodent is not in charge. My boss is the one who understands the technology and came up with the plan. The rodent is simply another henchma…er, rodent."

"Fine, but you'd better not let him hear that." Fidget glanced at Ratigan who seemed oblivious to their appearance.

"Will you two underlings be quiet," Tiffany whispered loudly. "Ratigan's coming this way and so is Moriarty. You two are dispensable to them, you know."

"Ah, Fenwick and Fidget." Moriarty walked up with Ratigan—who had finally noticed them. "Did you bring the blueprints?"

"Well, it was like this…" Fidget began. "We got the disk no problem and were coming down the sewer when the yardie attacked and—"

"You were followed!" Ratigan's giddiness was replaced by anger.

"We got away," Fenwick said quickly with a dark look at Fidget. "We also threw them a fake disk with a computer virus on it. We are safe. No one knows what is on the original."

"Don't worry, Ratigan," Moriarty said to his new partner. "Lestrade won't figure it out. Not even Holmes will stop me this time with you to help me."

"Hey!" Tiffany called to him indignantly. "I'm here too, you know."

"My apologies, Tiffany," Moriarty said as he bent his head slightly in her direction. "I know your worth as well. Together, the three of us will take over the world."

Ratigan laughed with glee, but Tiffany wasn't done yet. "And what exactly on that disk is going to help us do that?"

"Why don't you take a look, girl." Moriarty put the holodisk into his computer.

Tiffany gasped. "It's nanotechnology. The more advance than even what I knew existed in this time. What's it do?"

Moriarty looked at the other four occupants of the room and grinned. "It controls minds."


	3. The Copy

**The Copy**

_At Scotland Yard…_

"Hey!" Grayson yelled when Brittany grabbed the disk, "that's police evidence."

"Oh, relax." Brittany pulled out her mini-laptop from her purse and inserted the disk. "I plan to find out what was on this thing."

"But the…the…what did you call it again?" Dawson looked confused.

"It's a virus," Brittany said expertly, "and it's no problem to me. Even if the virus could adapt to my 'ancient' computer, my computer has precautions against any and all viruses. Now let me see..." Brittany began to type. "I saw this once on Numb3rs. Hopefully, I can find the imprints left by whatever was on this disk."

"How do you know there was anything important on this disk?" Lestrade asked. "It could just be an old disk that criminal decided to use to harm us."

"Then why wipe it?" Brittany looked confused. "The virus would have destroyed whatever was on it anyway—even if it only activated when Watson used it. A wiping implies that it held something worth hiding."

"What I don't understand is why Fenwick would leave us a virus." Lestrade held up her hands empty handed. "He deals with DNA, not computers. Moriarty will hack into computers sometimes, but he never develops his own viruses. It can't be a known one. Watson has protection against all known ones."

Brittany looked up. "Oh, it's known alright. Probably forgotten by you all too. If I'm right—and I must be—then there is only one explanation for this."

"What do you mean it's known?!" Grayson stood up. "Are you implying that my branch of Scotland Yard is deficient?"

"Well, Brittany," Holmes said grimly, "has your friend left us a message on the disk or not?"

"How did you know Tiffany sent this?!" Brittany jumped back, pale as a ghost. "And how did you know she was my friend—not that it's entirely true, but—"

"Eyes and brains, my dear, eyes and brains." Holmes made the motion along with the words. "You see, I noticed you knew the virus. Therefore, it must be a product of your time. 

Also, you seemed certain there would be something on the disk. You also act evasive. Even Basil has noticed your lack of explanations. Now, I think it's time you explained."

"Umm…well…" Brittany took a deep breath and continued. "Everyone, this whole fiasco—if you want to call it that—is a product of the universal balance. That's why Tiffany followed me, which I will admit I knew about. I didn't want to say anything because there was a chance that she would avoid the villains for once and stay out of it. Unfortunately, the balance forbids that." Brittany's face took on a sour look.

"You keep talking about a Universal Balance," Dawson said curiously. "What is it? And why would it draw your friend and all of us here with you?"

They all leaned in to listen to Brittany. "The Universal Balance, to put it simply, is a theory based on the physics statement that every action has a reaction equal in magnitude but opposite in direction. You see, every universe—and, yes, I do come from an alternate universe—has an equal amount of power on each side. There's good, evil, good neutral, bad neutral and just plain neutral."

"Oh, this is just great." Grayson looked annoyed. "Now you're going on about a balance that our world must follow. Sounds like a bunch of—"

"—with all due respect, sir," Lestrade interrupted, "you have two talking mice in your office. With that in mind, I think we can believe anything."

"Thank you inspector," Brittany said. "Now you are all the good, I'm the good neutral, Tiffany is the bad neutral and the others against us are the evil. We are all evenly matched. The only person who can take us back to our times is the neutral factor."

"And what if we don't?" Dawson asked. "I don't want to be stuck here forever. What about Mrs. Judson? And the Flavershams? I miss home…"

"It'll be alright Dawson," Basil put his arm around his friend. "I'm sure Brittany here will know where the neutral factor is."

"Oh No!" Brittany gasped. She looked around in panic and leapt up, her laptop crashing to the floor. "This is terrible! Why does this always happen to me!?"

"Calm down dear girl," Dawson pushed her back into her seat and handed her laptop back to her. "Whatever is the matter?"

"It's Celestria," Brittany was frantic now. "Oh, I am so busted. Now I have nowhere to hide. She's going to be so mad."

"Listen, Brittany," Lestrade said, "you need to tell us who she is. She can't be all that bad, can she? I'm sure we can get her to see reason. Scotland Yard will find her."

"Don't bother." Brittany was now irritated. "If she doesn't want to be found, she won't be and—trust me—she doesn't want to be found. Last time I ignored her little lecture on staying neutral and chose a side—too early in her opinion. As I recall, chaos broke loose, but it wasn't as bad as she said it was. Anyway, she won't choose to help any of the four sides unless peace is resumed. Right now, all four sides are in conflict. Why did it have to be _her_?"

"Don't worry." Basil patted her shoulder. "We will defeat them easily. They don't stand a chance."

"You haven't heard a word I said have you?" Brittany scowled. "Anyway, we had better hurry…or all three of our universes will collide and possibly be destroyed mentally or physically."

"What did you say?!" Everyone jumped to their feet.

"Everyone calm down," Brittany said as they sat down again. "Celestria's job is to slow down that process. There will be plenty of warning before the cataclysm occurs. I'll be watching for the signs… and so will Tiffany. She wants to talk to me… alone."

"I don't think so," Grayson said after a moment of silence. "You know too much. It's a trap and—since you seem to be the only one with a clue about what is happening—we can't risk you."

"Too bad." Brittany put her hands on her hips. "I trust Tiffany when she swears her honor on stuff like this. She may be a criminal, but she's still my friend. Also knows that she needs to check with me about the characters in this universe. It's a trade off, and I don't intend to miss it."

Then, Lestrade jumped on her and handcuffed her. "You're not going anywhere. Just tell us where you're friend is going and I'll pick her up to talk to her."

Brittany looked enraged. "Fine! You want to get her angry and see the results. Be my guests. She's going to show up at Big Ben at midnight. Be sure to tell her what you did to get the info."

"It'll be okay." Dawson helped the girl over to stand up. "It's for the best."

"We'll do better without her anyway," Basil mumbled to himself.

They led her to the detention center and locked her into a single cell in solitary confinement to keep her away from the real criminals. They set a constable at her door to protect her and left, hurrying to get to Big Ben before the meeting and set up the ambush.

Brittany did not struggle but keep a scowl pasted onto her face. She didn't intend to let them know what she was up to.

_Big Ben…_

Holmes and Lestrade watched from a ally close to Big Ben. They looked across the street to where they knew Basil and Dawson would be hiding. Then the bells of Big Ben began to chime. It was midnight.

"Where is she?" Lestrade huffed impatiently. "The little criminal is supposed to be here by now."

"Yes, I would like to apologize for her absence," an all too familiar voice said behind them. "Hello, again, Inspector."

They turned around. "Moriarty!"

He raised his gun as Fenwick came out of the shadows behind him. "Don't worry. You'll be reunited with your friends soon. _All_ of them."

Then, gunfire erupted across the street. Holmes extended his cane and knock the gun out of Moriarty's hand. Then, both sides leapt on each other and wrestled for their lives. Holmes against Moriarty and Lestrade against Fenwick. Then, Moriarty dropped a gas bomb and they couldn't breathe. By the time the gas had dissipated, the crooks were gone.

Worried about what Moriarty had said, they ran over across the street.

_Across the Street…_

Dawson looked at the unconscious Basil with worry. That fiend, Ratigan, had caught them by surprise and had not wasted any time in incapacitating Basil. Now, Ratigan was tying up his own arch enemy while Fidget approached with one of those strange looking red revolvers. All hope was lost.

"Freeze, you criminals!" Lestrade yelled out as she jumped Fidget and wrestled the gun away from him.

"Ah, Inspector Lestrade, I presume," Ratigan said cordially. "I guess Moriarty failed. Well then, we must be going."

Without warning, Ratigan threw the unconscious form of Basil at her and Holmes—who had just arrived alongside the quick officer. They had to catch the poor mouse and the two enlarged animals quickly dashed by and disappeared.

"Thank goodness." Dawson heaved a sigh of relief. "You got here just in time. They nearly had us and then who knows what they would have done."

"No time to relax now," Holmes said as he moved towards the concealed hovercar. "Brittany may still be in danger. We have yet to find out what Tiffany was doing."

_Scotland Yard…_

Brittany laid back in her cell making no attempts whatsoever to make a getaway. There was no need. After all, this was the meeting place. Apparently, Tiffany thought she could sneak into New Scotland Yard. That was why Brittany had manipulated the others into believing they would find her at Big Ben. With the two great detectives and one intuitive inspector out of the way, she could have her chat with Tiffany in peace. She had things she wanted to offer that she didn't want the good people knowing about.

"Hello, Brittany," Tiffany said as she opened up the door. "Long time, no see."

"Right." Brittany smiled. "I assume you heard what I explained about earlier."

"Every word. Which is why I am here. I didn't know Fenwick gave Lestrade a virus, Brittany. You believe me, right?"

"Of course I believe you, Tiffany." Brittany nodded her head sympathetically. "You're not that devious."

"Hey! I could be that devious if I tried." Tiffany pulled another disk out of her pocket. "Here's the information on the holodisk. You wouldn't believe the effort it took to copy it."

"What about the virus cure?" Brittany held out her hand.

"That'll take longer…" Tiffany hesistated.

"Oh, will you just give it here." Brittany looked hurt. "I know you gave that virus to Fenwick. It was from _our_ time, remember."

"Yeah. I should have know I couldn't pull one over on you." She handed Brittany another disk. "You didn't get it from me. Now, if you'll just give me the first holodisk back. After all, you're friends might get suspicious if I suddenly knew all your movements."

"And I guess you want the copied data from poor Watson, too." Brittany caught the look. "Oh, don't look so shocked Tiffany. Why else would you give up so obvious an advantage? Not to please Celestria surely. Especially when you think she's an egotistical—"

"—okay, okay. I admit it. Let's not bad mouth Celestria. She's obsessive enough to let the universes collide just to teach us all a lesson in keeping the peace."

They made the last exchange and Brittany was left alone to wander the hallways and wait for the others to return. Tiffany hadn't removed her handcuffs, but, then, it would have seemed suspicious. After all, she didn't want the others to know how neutral both she and Tiffany were.


	4. The Lying Game

**The Lying Game**

_New Scotland Yard…_

She dodged around a corner, searching for something to remove her handcuffs. No way was she, Brittany Birch, going to just stay and wait until the others returned—if they returned. Of course, she could just use her superpower to melt them off, but then how would she explain what had happened to the handcuffs. With two detectives watching her, there was no way she could keep it a secret with an act like that. No, it was much safer to use more conventional means. That was when she bumped into the constable.

"Hey! How did you get out of your cell?" He yelled as he tried to jump her.

Brittany tripped the constable and ran. He was clueless so there was no use wasting her energy trying to tell him what was going on. She would have had to lie anyway about how she got out and she hated full blown lies. She always felt uneasy about telling one—even if it was justified.

The gunfire snapped her out of her deep thoughts on lies. The guard was catching up as Brittany's breath came in gasps. She rounded a corner, then another and another. Finally she darted into a room, completely lost. As she repaid her oxygen dept from sprinting, she took in her surroundings. The one person there was incapable of hearing her hyperventilating. It was Watson.

_In Lestrade's Car…_

"Slow down Lestrade!" Holmes and Basil both yelled—one panicked and the other concerned about the groups welfare.

"Not a chance." Lestrade put on an extra burst of speed, causing Basil to fall backward. "Your friend could still be in danger. We don't know what this Tiffany is capable of doing. Moriarty has gotten in Scotland Yard before."

"Lestrade, listen to reason." Holmes tried to grab the wheel. "We cannot help the girl if we crash. So, slow down."

"Lestrade," Basil said, "she's probably already been kidnapped anyway. The girl was not very—"

"—not very what, Basil?" Brittany's voice came in over the communicator along with her image on the screen.

"That's impossible!" Basil yelled. "How on earth…?"

"Oh, have you reached your limit to adapt, Basil?" Brittany looked smug. "Honestly, we have something like this in our time. It's called the webcam with instant messaging, not that you'd—"

"Enough!" Holmes said. "We need to work together. Now, Brittany, how did you escape from Tiffany?"

"Fat chance I'll tell." Brittany scowled. "You all had me locked in jail cell. I had to go cure Watson of that dratted virus before I could get those handcuffs off."

"It's true, Holmes," Watson said. "Brittany inserted something like the other disk into me and now I'm fit to help out again."

"That's great, Watson." Holmes looked elated. "We'll be there shortly. You can explain everything when we get there."

_Moriarty's Lair…_

Tiffany entered the lair as quietly as she could. She dreaded seeing if the good guys were there or not. She hoped they were not. That way, her failure would not seem so bad. Better yet, she wouldn't have to lie. She had not thought to coordinate her story with Brittany until she was too far away to even try. She loved to lie, but was always afraid of getting caught in the act.

Tiffany breathed a sigh of relief. The others with Brittany had not been captured. Moriarty was nowhere to be seen, thank god. She had the feeling that the guy could see through people like glass. Unfortunately, Ratigan was.

"Hello, Tiffany," Ratigan greeted her in that annoying voice of his. "It seems you were as unlucky as us. I would have had that minor detective, Basil, if Moriarty had done his job properly."

"Let me guess," Tiffany said, "Holmes and Lestrade were too much for the guy, not that I'm surprised. From the way Brittany talked about him, I would've expected Moriarty to have been caught by now. Where is he anyway?"

"Right here, of course," Moriarty stated from behind them. "Now, Tiffany, report."

"Well, our bug is discovered and Brittany stole the virus cure for Watson from me." Tiffany did her best to look ashamed, which was a real challenge for her. "I really think we should capture Brittany still. You see, she says that we need to maintain the—"

"That's enough," Moriarty stopped her. "We do not believe in that nonsense about problems in the space-time continuum. All I see is an opportunity to defeat my nemesis at last. When I…I mean we… get through with this country, no one will be able to stop us."

Tiffany bit her lip. It was just her luck to get stuck with a bunch of egotistical villains and henchmen who were as stupid as their masters were egotistical. She hated how they treated her like one of their stupid mercenaries. If they didn't stop this idiocy and listen to her soon, she and Brittany were going to have to unite and make some drastic changes. Brittany wouldn't like the idea of course, but Tiffany was sure she could convince her friend…with blackmail.

"Now, it is time to initiate the next point of our scheme," Moriarty's voice broke her thoughts. "Now, here is what needs to be done…"

_In a house in the old, abandoned district…_

She wore a grey cloak fastened with a star and underneath wore all white and blue clothing. The old house was filled with what the people of this time called relics. Silly people to count these so called 'relics' meaningless. In her time, these machines were on the forefront of technology. Of course that was how society worked. It ploughed on ahead, forgetting the foundations upon which it was built. It was her job to remind all societies she met about their humble beginnings and how everyone had come from the same place.

Celestria looked at the lights from the main city of London in the distance. This city was too chaotic for her taste. The flying cars, the crime waves, and, of course, the loud noise. It was a lot louder than even in her time and everyone was in as much of a hurry as those misguided people in her time.

Celestria looked out at the city as if looking for someone. "I hope you and Tiffany can calm the chaos, Brittany. As it is, colliding this world would be an improvement."

Casting a soundproof spell over herself so she could sleep, Celestria closed her eyes, content that, for once, peace would prevail—even if she had to destroy the city to reestablish the long awaited balance.

**And that is the end of this chapter. To anyone who is reading this, I hope you like it. I know I am putting a little too much fantasy into this, but I'm trying to be original so bear with me. If anyone sees any examples of OOCness in this story could they please warn me. Sometimes I slip up like that. Another installment later.**


	5. The Chaos Catalyst

_Hello, any and all readers. Sorry about taking a little longer between updates, but I just finished my exams. I will try to continue to stay true to all the characters and the fantasy and mystery genres. Now, on with the story._

**The Chaos Catalyst**

_In Moriarty's Lair…_

Tiffany yawned. This was the worst part of the plan, she thought; the waiting. Soon, though, they would initiate something that would not only help achieve the other's goal for a dictatorship, but also make Celestria fix their universe mix-up. The fools had not even thought about what brought them here. They simply wanted to use the opportunity. Unfortunately, everything came at a price these days; like her power. But enough of that, it was time to start the plan.

_New Scotland Yard: the next morning…_

Brittany had awakened in the middle of the night and gone to the bathroom. Someone had followed her. This morning, Basil was shooting her dirty looks. Holmes was gentlemanly enough, but neither he nor Lestrade had let her out of their sight. Now, pacing the room with their eyes following her, she was ready to scream. She was an introvert and enjoyed some privacy regularly. How dare they refuse her that right. If it were not for the fact that they would need her soon, she would have ditched them already.

Seeing Lestrade's hand stray to her gun finally set her off. "What is wrong with all of you?!" Her muscles tensed. "Why won't you just leave me alone?!"

"What are you talking about?" Watson said, confused, "I detect nothing wrong with any of us. What do you mean, Brittany?"

"Watson," Brittany said, trying to keep her voice pitch low, "I know you are a machine, but can't you at least see an emotional conflict when it happens. You must have seen how none of them will allow me any privacy. Even the _great_ mouse detective is giving me dirty looks. I am sick of it!"

Watson still looked confused, but everyone else shifted uncomfortably. "We we just want to make sure you are safe," Dawson stated, trying to calm her down.

"Dawson, don't lie," Basil said, a little rudely, "the girl obviously knows what is going on and why we are doing it." He turned to Brittany. "I don't trust you and neither does anyone else."

"Now, now, Basil," Holmes said. "I wouldn't go that far—"

"It's okay, Holmes," Brittany said as she threw on a look of disgust. "Basil may be blunt, but at least he trusts me with the truth… unlike some people I know."

"Hold on," Lestrade said, breaking the tension in the room. "I'm getting a message from Grayson."

"Inspector Lestrade," Grayson began on her wrist communicator, "please proceed to my office. There has been a development in the case…one that cannot be said anywhere else as it is top secret. Hurry as fast as you can. Over and out."

Lestrade sighed and huffed, "let's go."

_A few minutes later…_

Lestrade, Holmes, Basil, Brittany, Dawson and Watson all entered the room in that order. Grayson was sitting back in his chair with his feet on the desk. He looked smug.

"It's about time you all got here," he said in an annoyed manner.

"Chief, you just called us now," Lestrade argued. "We got here as fast as we could. What's the new development? Have you found out what was on the disk?"

"Oh, I found out enough to know what to do now," he said with a smirk. "Arrest her!" And three police officers ran into the room.

"Hey! Let go of me! I'm innocent!" Brittany yelled as she was grabbed forcefully. As the others looked at her with shock, she screamed, "I swear I didn't do whatever they're saying I did! Honestly! I swear!"

"Save it for your hearing—not that you deserve one." Grayson sat up in his chair. "Take her away officers."

Brittany stopped struggling as she was led away. She stared stoically back at her former comrades, wondering who had framed her. Obviously, someone hated her enough to want her out of action…and their way. Probably Basil. Holmes and Lestrade were too justice oriented. Watson and Dawson were too trustworthy to even think of such a thing. No, it must be Basil—especially with that dirty look the mouse had flashed her way as she left. Jerk.

Now it looked like Brittany would have to solve this case all on her own. The earth trembled slightly under her feet, but she the feeling of betrayal pushed out all else.

_In Lestrade's Police Car…_

Everyone had piled into Lestrade's car to go to Baker Street. They all fit in one car now. They all yearned for the familiar geography of Baker Street. Dawson felt sick at the moment. How could Brittany betray them? Despite her constant feuding with Basil, she had seemed like a nice person. She was a little secretive, but he had not thought her capable of betrayal. No one had ever betrayed him before and he felt…wrong.

In the same position, Watson was trying to understand the human capability to betray. He did not understand. The Doctor Watson of old had never experienced such a betrayal and, as a machine, this Watson could not comprehend this new human experience.

Unlike the two doctors, Lestrade was furious. She may be a lone wolf, but when she put her trust in someone, they never turned on her. She was not really angry at the betrayal itself, but rather at the fact that she had been unable to spot that Brittany's criminal nature. The girl must have one, if it was serious enough for Grayson to have her arrested personally. Lestrade tried to focus on driving, after her brooding almost made them hit another police cruiser.

Holmes and Basil were not brooding. Instead, their minds were whirling at high speeds; trying to come up with the solution to this mystery and figure out where their opposites might be hiding.

Then Basil noticed something. "Isn't that the same police cruiser that we drove by before."

"You're right, Basil," Holmes said as he glanced at it in the rearview mirror. "The same light is out on this one too. I wonder why it doubled ba—"

"Hey! What's going on?" Lestrade yelled as the strange police vehicle began to fire on them. "Hey, you! This is Inspector Lestrade of New Scotland Yard! Stop firing immediately!"

Holmes grabbed the wheel and pulled their car into a dive just in time as the cruiser shot another round of fire at them. Lestrade grabbed the wheel back and pulled out of the dive. Their car swerved side to side as tried to avoid being locked on by the rogue vehicle.

"Hang on!" Lestrade yelled. "I can't reach Scotland Yard. They're jamming us. I'll have to lose them."

Then, the enemy car began shooting air torpedoes—the most deadly arsenal in the police cruisers; so much that only the new ones had them. Knowing the danger, Lestrade led them through twists and turns. Finally, she ducked into an old subway access tunnel.

"We must have lost them," Lestrade said as she jumped out of the car, followed by everyone else. "I can't hear the sirens from the police cruiser anymore."

Then, something exploded. "Look out!" Someone yelled as the tunnel began to collapse.

**And that is the end of this chapter. Will everyone survive the cave-in? Will they be able to stop Moriarty and Ratigan? And what is up with Brittany and the police cruiser? I'll answer some of those questions in the next chapter when I figure out how I am going to begin pulling it all together. **

**Anyways, if anyone is reading this, could you give me some feedback as this is my first fanfic (usually I just write pure fiction I make up myself). Also, let me know if any of my OC's get too mary sueish or anything else that takes away from the story. **

**Much appreciated, thanks.**


	6. Realization

_Here's another chapter. I will start to build the main conflict more and move towards resolving the side conflicts. Anyway, here's the story continuation…_

**Realization**

_In the Abandoned Tunnel…_

Dawson ran out when he heard the yell about the tunnel collapsing. He tripped, but Watson grabbed him and kept on running. They made it out of the tunnel just in time as it was blocked with the last of the collapsing debris.

"Basil! No!" Dawson called out as he saw no one had come out behind them. "He was my friend…and now he's gone…"

Watson placed a hand on the depressed mouse's shoulders. "Don't worry, Dawson. I've seen Holmes get out of tougher situations than this. I'm sure Basil will survive too. They could be on the other side of the tunnel. We need to find another entrance."

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Dawson asked, his hope renewed, "lead the way."

_Inside the tunnel…_

Lestrade coughed as she sat up. She considered herself lucky that the debris had not crushed her. She looked around. The only one's missing were Dawson and Watson. She hoped they were alright.

She looked over to Basil and Holmes, who were also stirring. "Are you both okay? They probably blasted this tunnel pretty good. I just hope the others got out."

"Nothing was blasted, Lestrade," Holmes said. "The collapse occurred too quickly for any police cruiser to have done it. That was an earthquake. I'm surprised the whole tunnel didn't collapse."

"An earthquake!" Lestrade said. "I hope everyone in the city is okay."

"We should find another way out, if there still is one," Basil said. "We need to find Dawson and Watson before Ratigan, Moriarty, and Tiffany do. There is no doubt they are behind this."

"What about Brittany?" Lestrade asked. "She betrayed us and she was keeping information secret from us."

"As much as I hate to admit it, Brittany cannot be guilty." Basil looked irritated. "She cured Watson of that…that…virus for one thing. The villains also set a trap for her, which they would not need to do if she was on their side. Besides, Grayson was acting oddly when he ordered her arrested."

"I agree," Holmes said. "We encountered something dealing with mind control in Watson's narrative of _the Adventure of the Deranged Detective._ Nanobots were used to take control of Lestrade's mind. Something similar must be happening here."

"You mean someone has taken control of Scotland Yard?" Lestrade looked shocked. "I guess we'll have to go on by ourselves. If that's true, then Grayson must have been the one who sent that cruiser after us."

"Yes," Holmes said. "They probably jammed our communications too. We should get moving before they send someone to ensure we have indeed died."

Lestrade roughly knew their position in relation to the city, so she led the way. Holmes and Basil followed, holding a whispered discussion which Lestrade ignored. They had to find the others and then rescue Brittany before she was assassinated like what had been attempted on them. It was going to be a rough day.

_In the prison wing of New Scotland Yard…_

Brittany was cooling her heels waiting for an explanation of what was going on. She still believed that Basil was the one who had gotten her into this mess. Her theory was that he had faked evidence. The mouse was a chemist after all, albeit one of the nineteenth century. She was determined to stay in this cell and let them be defeated. It would serve them right for doubting her integrity. Then, she felt the earthquake.

The earthquake sent a chill through her bones as she leapt up. It was starting. Then, her cell door opened and in walked Grayson. He was pointing his gun at her. She followed him out of her cell and was marched back into his office. Inside were Moriarty, Ratigan, and Tiffany.

"Hello, Brittany," Tiffany remarked to her secret ally. "How's your day been so far?"

Brittany caught on immediately. "You were the ones who got me arrested?" she said in disbelief, "Basil had nothing to do with it?"

"Of course, Brittany," Ratigan said, gloating. "Who else has the resources and the motive. Scotland Yard is now under out command and, as for your friends, they are now being…eliminated."

"Are you insane?!" Brittany tried to jump forward, but was held back by Grayson. She stopped struggling and continued, "didn't you feel the earthquake just now? I know Tiffany must have felt the spiritual significance. This world is beginning to collide with the other world. It's the stupid chaos catalyst principle Celestria mentioned to me last week. You need to help me find her so she can restore the universal balance."

Ratigan and Moriarty just laughed. Tiffany laughed too, but Brittany could see it was a nervous one. She knew Tiffany had felt it. Tiffany also threw a dirty look at the two laughing villains. It seemed she was not happy with their lack of insight.

Then, the door opened and Watson and Dawson were led in by Fenwick and Fidget. The look on their faces made it clear that they had no idea what was going on.

"Brittany, are you alright?" Dawson asked. "I would like to apologize for doubting you. I should have known you would never betray us."

"The same cannot be said for me," Tiffany said as she stepped away from Ratigan and Moriarty. "Now, Brittany!"

Suddenly, the Moriarty and Ratigan were hit with a strong gust of wind that knocked them off their feet. The next thing they knew, they were quivering in fear of everything they could see. Fenwick and Fidget were hit with a fire so intense that it exploded the air around them, and, yet, it did nothing to Watson or to Dawson. Both of them stood their ground as the fire passed by. Fire also hit Grayson and he collapsed as well from the explosions.

"Come on!" Tiffany yelled to the stunned spectators. "We need to get out before it wears off." And they all ran out the door towards the landing bay.

Ten minutes later, everyone sat up and groaned. Ratigan and Moriarty were furious. That Tiffany was a traitor. Not only that, but her wind had reduced them to sniveling wrecks. Fenwick and Fidget were not thinking about that. They were still in pain from the fire that girl, Brittany, had set on them.

The most confused of all was Chief Inspector Grayson. The fire may have hurt him, but it had also destroyed the nanobots that had instilled the criminal lackey tendencies in his brain. He remembered everything he had done and was angry that he had ever been stupid enough to solve that puzzle box. He had thought it was from Holmes. After all, the man was eccentric. Well, they were not about to get the better of him again. He had to help the others and he knew exactly how to do it.

**That's the end of another chapter. This is really fun to write, letting my subconscious work in tandem with my imagination. Anyway, I'll write another chapter soon.**


	7. On the Run

_Here goes yet another chapter. I notice I have been getting hits, but I am not sure if my interpretation is any good. Could I get some constructive feedback? Nothing rude; just tell me if you notice OOCness, or grammar problems, or if my OCs are dominating or something. I plan to make the original characters less overbearing for this chapter so the regulars can have more time to air their situations. Anyway, here we go…_

**On the Run**

_In Scotland Yard…_

Tiffany led the way as she ran through the corridors towards the landing bay where she had arrived, carefree, only a little while earlier. Now, she was running for all she was worth. She had chosen her allies.

Brittany led up the rear as she was not very athletic. In school, she had almost failed the beep test for running. She could feel the lactic acid build up in her muscles and hoped Tiffany was taking the short distance to their destination.

The group turned a corner and ended up in the landing bay. "Finally!" Brittany gasped as the climbed into the nearest police cruiser, "could you have taken any longer? I was about to collapse back there, you know."

"Oh relax, Brittany." Tiffany rolled her eyes. "You were doing fine." She turned to the others. "Now, all we need to do is steal a nondescript car and then we can—"

"—_Tiffany,_" Brittany said warningly. "How many times do I have to emphasize that you do not need to break the law just because you feel like it."

"I do not!" Tiffany disagreed. "This is necessary. If we stay in this police cruiser, then one of _them_ will find us. Then, we'll never stop them. Egotistical morons that they are, they will never listen to us about Celestria…at least, not until it's too late."

"Well, what do you propose we should do?" Dawson interrupted the conversation. "After all, you seem to have gotten to know both of them rather well. Even I don't know Ratigan that well and I don't know Moriarty's style at all."

"I also must admit that I only know of Moriarty what Holmes has told me," Watson said sadly. "I never did meet the man before he met his demise and he hides in the shadows nowadays."

"You may know them better than you think," Brittany said to both counterparts. "After all, Ratigan is just an anthropomorphic counterpart of Moriarty. If you both put your info together, I'm sure you'll know more than Tiffany. Of course, I know a lot, but I have watched—"

"—well, I think we need to make a plan now," Tiffany interrupted, shooting Brittany a dirty look. "I say we split up. We need to cover a lot of ground to search the underground for Holmes and Basil."

"But I thought—" Tiffany jabbed Brittany in the ribs. "I'll stop the car at this entrance and drop you two off to search there, as it's the closest exit to where the tunnel collapsed, according to you two. Brittany and me will try somewhere else."

Everyone agreed on the plan—although Brittany had to be silenced on the subject—and soon, Dawson and Watson were alone. They ventured into the underground.

It was dark so Watson used an electronic light. The light lit up more than the tunnel. "Holmes!" Watson shouted with relief at the same time that Dawson called out, "Basil!"

"Could we save the happy reunion until after we stop those criminals?" Lestrade interrupted, annoyed.

"We have to go and meet up with Brittany and Tiffany first," Dawson said. "They went to look for you elsewhere."

"And where do we need to go and meet them?" Holmes asked of the two doctors. Both of them gave each other confused looks and then it dawned on them. Holmes explained, "just as I thought. They have run off to accomplish their tasks. No doubt it involves finding Celestria and restoring the universal balance. The earthquake was simply as sign of what is to come if it is not restored."

"Should we not, then, go and assist them in their endeavors?" Watson asked, hurt that his two friends had left them. "They cannot possibly do this on their own."

"Let them be," Basil broke his silence. "As much as I hate to admit it, Brittany can take care of herself. She and her friend have known what is going on from the beginning. We need to focus on stopping Ratigan and Moriarty before they complete their nefarious plot…and I know just how to do it…"

Chief Inspector Grayson was busy 'following orders' from Moriarty. What he was actually doing was sending out his officers on wild goose chases. Grayson knew that those fiends where monitoring his airwaves to make sure that he did not start to fight the nanobots in his system.

Grayson resisted the urge to attack Fenwick when the scum of a man entered the room. "Have any of the fugitives been caught yet?" He asked in his nasal voice. When Grayson shook his head, Fenwick looked disappointed. "Oh, we will get you yet, you do-gooders. And when we do, Moriarty and Ratigan have a little surprise for you."

Grayson breathed a sigh of relief when the convict left the room, laughing manically. He almost relaxed when Moriarty and Ratigan walked in, arguing heatedly.

"I want to go out and lay a trap for Basil myself," Ratigan said. "I want him either dead or under our control. Imprisoning them is the worst criminal plot anyone has ever suggested."

"But surely you must see the humor in my plan?" Moriarty debated. "After all, what better way to show our arch enemies that they have been beaten than by convicting them and ruining their reputations? Besides, you know that the nanobots are not infallible. We as of yet have not developed them to handle minds as…clever as Basil's or Holmes'."

"That will be remedied when we get that traitor back," Ratigan growled. "She is the one who locked us out of the plans in the first place. Now, we can only use the one's we have already made. Besides, no one has the knowledge to…upgrade…the nanobots."

"Ah, but you forget, Professor," Moriarty reminded his associate. "_Dear_ Tiffany told us that she knew the perfect person to modify the nanobots…her friend Brittany."

**And that is the end of this installment. Please let me know if this is getting cheesy or something. I know I sound like a broken record, but it would really be a great help. If you have any suggestions, don't be afraid to let me know.**

**As always, thanks for reading. **


	8. Time is Running Out

_Here is another chapter. I am trying to build up a good climax so bear with me. Anyways…here we go._

**Time is Running Out**

_In the Abandoned Subway System…_

Holmes, Basil, and company made their way to the last location of Moriarty's secret lair. Holmes had remembered that it would be empty and the computer had the capability of hacking into Scotland Yard.

"Wouldn't it be better to attack them directly?" Dawson asked. "After all, we've beaten them before."

"But they are searching for us, Dawson," Basil said. "We need to get into their…computer remotely. That way, those villains can't catch us in a trap like Ratigan last time." Then, a thought hit Basil. "Wait, when we go back to our times will we go back to the exact place where we were before…"

Holmes looked up, thoughtful. "I see no reason why not." Noticing Basil triumphant look, he added, "I wouldn't be so confident if I were you Basil. I happen to know for sure that what you are thinking of will not come to pass."

Basil looked up, surprised. What was Holmes talking about? There was no way he could escape the fate he had before when they returned to where they had come from. He shook his head and pushed it from his mind. For once, he was sure the human version of himself had made a mistake. After all, no one—not even himself—was infallible. Even the best made mistakes and no one could see into the future.

But what Basil did not know was that Holmes was not thinking about the future. He was talking about his past…and Brittany's future. Perhaps Holmes would have taken the time to explain, but he didn't have the time.

Lestrade past them in a panic. "The tunnel's collapsing!" She yelled. "It's a earthquake! If we don't escape, we'll be buried alive!"

_In an abandoned house close to the Earth and Space Science Association (ESSA)…_

Tiffany paced the room in impatience as Brittany stood there waiting for something. Tiffany finally had enough. "Brittany, why are we wasting our time in this old house? We should be out looking for Celestria."

"Calm down, Tiffany." Brittany looked up. "We don't have enough information to find Celestria yet. I need to wait for—" Brittany broke off her sentence as the earthquake hit, rattling the house.

"Brittany, quickly!" Tiffany yelled as she dragged her friend under a door way to wait out the earthquake. "Wait! Where are you going?"

"Come on!" Brittany yelled as she ran out of the house while the earthquake raged on, "this is what I've been waiting for. We need to go to ESSA."

Tiffany shrugged her shoulders and ran to catch up with her friend. She had no idea what Brittany was up to, but whatever it was, she knew it would help them with their problem. Or, at least, she hoped it would help them.

Brittany, meanwhile, had no doubt in her mind about what she was doing. With ESSA just across the street, all they had to do was hop the fence and they were in. After all, those scientists kept their research public, so there was no reason for anyone to steal anything.

Both girls ran to the research department for tectonic plates. There were three scientists there.

"We need a copy of the epicenters for this earthquake and the last one," Brittany said as they ran up to them. "It's important."

"Give me just a moment, miss," one said as he pulled a GPS. Then, he handed it to her, "there you are."

"Are you kidding me?" Brittany stared at the screen. "This cites the last earthquake epicenter as being in Canada. We need only the last two from London."

He looked up, surprised. "How did you know they were both in London? We had yet to release that information."

"That's classified." Tiffany said. "It is really important that you tell us where those origin points were. We may be able to stop them."

He nodded and punched in some new numbers and handed the GPS back to them. "Aha!" Brittany looked triumphant. "They both originated at the same spot. That is where Celestria is. Let's go, Tiffany, before she gets away."

Both girls ran outside and proceeded to steal another car. Normally, Brittany would have complained about it, but there was no time for nonsense like that today. They were running out of time.

_Outside of the Subway…_

Lestrade led the way as the group charged out of the collapsing tunnel. They barely made it out alive. Breathing a sigh of relief, she looked around for where they should go next. Then, she saw them. Her fellow police officers.

"Elizabeth Lestrade, Sherlock Holmes, Watson, Basil, Dawson, you are all under arrest," yelled one of them. "Surrender peacefully or we will be forced to use force."

"We have to comply, Lestrade," Holmes said as she prepared to combat her fellow officers. "They have us out manned. We shall deal with it later."

"Don't worry," Dawson said. "Basil got us out of a predicament before. I'm sure he'll do it again."

But his words were lost on the friends as they were separated and placed into several police cruisers. It looked grim.

_At Scotland Yard…_

Ratigan and Moriarty sat in Grayson's office awaiting news of their enemies whereabouts. They still needed to find Brittany and Tiffany in order to gain access to new and improved nanobots. Then, the door opened and in walked Basil and Holmes.

Ratigan hopped up in excitement. "Haha! We finally got them."

"Where are the others?" Moriarty asked of Fenwick and Fidget, who had brought in the two detectives. "Did you capture Tiffany and Brittany?"

"The others are locked up," Fenwick said in his nasal voice. "However, the yardies said that the two girls were not with them. They must have split up. We have more yardies out looking for them."

"Well, hurry up!" Ratigan yelled at their minions, "we need to catch them before they cause us any problems. But now, we have the most important people." He turned to Basil. "I know you really wanted to catch me, Basil, but I guess I must be too good for you. You were effortless to capture and now, your reputations will be ruined. Face it, Basil, you're all washed up."

Basil hung his head in defeat as Ratigan laughed. Moriarty joined in too. After all, he did not like Basil either. It was a real shame, he thought, that Holmes would never let this sort of thing get to him. Of course, Moriarty had other ways to make Holmes compliant.

"Oh, and Holmes," Moriarty said to his nemesis, "we will also have to ruin your friends as well. We already have the good Chief Inspector. Watson, though, will have to have his memory erased so he can be of use to us."

Moriarty and Ratigan grinned as Holmes clenched his fists and tried to remain calm with merely a scowl on his face. Watson was his best friend and they wanted to erase his existence. He had to escape, but how was he supposed to do that with Basil having suddenly hit a depressive state. The mouse's emotional nature was unstable. He was still fuming when he saw Grayson wink at him and tilt 

his head slightly in his direction. Basil hadn't noticed it, but Grayson was not under any nanobots' power.

Before he could try to respond, the two napoleons of crime ordered them into jail cells. For once, Holmes felt uneasy. He normally relied on himself or Watson only. He had learned to rely on Lestrade like he never had with her ancestor, but that had taken a while. Knew his only hope was Grayson, Tiffany, and Brittany, but chances of their aid were looking pretty bleak. He would have to wait.

_Back in Grayson's Office…_

Grayson looked up with a blank look in his eyes as Moriarty and Ratigan picked up their cloaks. "We are going out on business. Look after things until we return."

When they left, Grayson breathed a sigh of relief. He knew Fenwick and Fidget were already out looking for the two girls. Now was the time to act. He got on the phone and originated an all points bulletin alerting his officers as to what had been going on.

Ten minutes later, Grayson had everyone in front of him. He nodded to Holmes who winked back at him. "As you all know, Moriarty had taken command of Scotland Yard. Now, he and the rat have left on business. We need to find them and stop Fenwick and the bat from kidnapping Brittany Birch and Tiffany Phobia. Any questions?"

Grayson raised an eyebrow when Holmes stepped forward, but let the man talk. "I know where they are heading. We need to go to the abandoned district now. That is where they are looking for Celestria and they may be in danger."

"Come on, Holmes, Basil," Lestrade yelled as she made her way out the door. "I'll drive!"

"Lestrade!" Grayson yelled after her in dismay. "I haven't authorized this! Come back here! Why can't she follow procedure for once?"

_In the Abandoned Housing Area…_

"Are you sure about this?" Ratigan asked. "They could have gone elsewhere."

"No," Moriarty argued. "Those two girls were both concerned about something called the Universal Balance. They probably think the earthquakes are a by-product of its collapse. If we find the epicenter, we will find them. I guarantee it."

_Inside an old abandoned house…_

Celestria was meditating. All the chaos between good and evil was making her sick. She was not happy. "I thought creating those two earthquakes would solve this!" She complained. "But, no, they have to cause even more chaos."

Celestria stomped around the house, trying to come up with another way to stop the chaos before it was too late. If it wasn't stopped…well…she didn't want to think about it. It would probably get really nasty, though.

Knowing she needed to get the attention of the villains, she was preparing a spell that would leave their denial in shreds. Unfortunately, it would also cause some…aftershocks…but those were unavoidable if she wanted to restore the ever vital balance.

Little did she know that everyone was converging on her as her mind dwelled on the issues of this complex universe. She would see soon enough, the chaos that she had unwittingly created.

**And here is where I stop again until the next update. Sorry about the lack of good quality mental conflict, but I was racking my brain for inspiration. I still need to pull together the next part to get over the climax into the falling action. Anyway, until next time, enjoy the weather.**


	9. Thwarted at Every Turn

_Here we go into the climax. I may finish the climax in this chapter or the next, but here is where the final build up starts. Thanks to those who have read this story. I actually thought this one out, because I don't want to end the story with an anti-climax, as that would be boring. And now, without further ado, here is the next chapter…_

**Thwarted at Every Turn**

The small cauldron bubbled behind the sorceress. Celestria was almost finished her potion save for one final ingredient. She was very lucky that she had caught the mixture before the earthquake had spilt all her hard work. This potion was the key to the solution of this problem. She was waiting for it to finish simmering while she checked the locations of all those involved.

_Funny,_ she thought, _I cannot gather a reading to discover their whereabouts. It's murky…_

"It's her!" her magical sense heard behind her. She turned around and called out, "I know you are there. You cannot hide from me. The stars see all."

"Not enough, sweetheart," said a bat holding a blaster as he came down the stairs. "Now, you're coming with us and no funny stuff."

Celestria sensed someone behind her and calmly pivoted to see a man behind her; also holding a blaster. "Ah, Fidget and Fenwick, we meet at last. I was wondering when someone would show up. Brittany must be getting slow for you two to beat her here."

"Enough chitchat," Fenwick growled. "We thought you were Brittany, but since you seem to know her, I'm sure she will come for you. Now move!"

And so the henchman and henchbat took off with Celestria into the night, ignoring the simmering potion as it bubbled loudly.

_Two Minutes Later…_

"Come on, Brittany, you are such a slow poke," Tiffany yelled back to Brittany as they ran. "I just saw some lights leave that house over there. Celestria may've already left. Come on."

"I…can't…keep…up," Brittany huffed as she tried to run. She saw her friend getting further and further ahead of her. Finally, she yelled, "you…go…on…ahead…Tiff."

Tiffany rolled her eyes and dashed faster to get a good lead. When was Brittany going to get into shape? The girl had been a superhero for over a year and still couldn't run to save her life. It was pathetic.

Brittany sat gasping on the old road. She felt guilty, but she had been on the verge of collapse. Oh, how she hated running.

"Need a lift?" yelled a familiar voice from a passing car. "You look exhausted."

"Dawson, Watson, Holmes, Lestrade…and Basil," Brittany said happily (except for the last name, of course). "How did you all get here?"

"Well," Watson explained as he helped her into the car, "after you ditched us, we met up with everyone else and then got caught. Luckily, we managed to restore justice at New Scotland Yard. However, that was very irresponsible of you two to run off like that, especially when Moriarty and Ratigan are looking for both of you. Where is your friend, by the way?"

"Oh, Tiffany ran on ahead." Brittany looked away in embarrassment. "I'm not very athletic you see and—"

"We have no time for that now," Basil said. "We need to get Tiffany before she is kidnapped by Ratigan."

A few moments later, when they entered the building, they found Tiffany jumping around in anger. When she saw Brittany, her mood did not improve. "You! This is all your fault! If you hadn't of been so slow…" Tiffany trailed off and handed Brittany a note.

Brittany quickly read it. She said nothing, only shoving the note in the direction of the others. They read the note too and looked at her sympathetically.

"Why is it suddenly so quiet," remarked Basil at the sudden silence. "It seemed noisier before, but how…?"

"It's that little black pot," Holmes said. "It was simmering when we came in. They must have just left."

"But how can you know?" Lestrade asked. "They could have left at any time today."

"But I don't think they did." Holmes turned to face her. "They were looking for Brittany and Tiffany, not a sorceress they probably didn't even believe existed; if Tiffany's story is to be 

believed. They knew they would try to find out the earthquake epicenters so they checked the second one, as I did and found it the same as the first. As Brittany checked with ESSA quite recently, as I've been informed, they wouldn't have been here any earlier. Oh, and the fire must have been put out quiet recently for the liquid to still be simmering when we came in."

"Nice deduction, Holmes, " Brittany complimented, "but your last one is incorrect. That is a potion. Celestria's potions do not need flames to make them simmer. You are right, though, about the time. When me and Tiffany were running, we saw a pair of lights leaving this house. They must have been the car she left in. They were heading back to the populated part of London."

"Let's go!" Basil said as he made for the door, "this time, Ratigan will not escape me."

Everyone followed him out, Brittany delaying just long enough to bottle up the potion and grabbing something from the shelves. They all piled into the car and took off into the night.

Twenty minutes later, the car arrived at the subway entrance that would lead to Moriarty's lair. They knew that was surely where they had taken Celestria. They were just approaching the entrance when they saw Fenwick and Fidget at the entrance with Celestria.

"They really were not that far ahead," said Lestrade happily when she saw the company. "Let's go arrest them."

"No, Lestrade," Holmes said before she could go any farther. "You need to go to Scotland Yard and alert the Chief Inspector about the whereabouts of these villains."

Lestrade tried to protest, but then the two henchmen ran into the sewers with Celestria. The others ran off with Holmes in the lead. Lestrade sighed in defeat and got back in her vehicle to report to Grayson. Sometimes, Holmes could be so insufferable.

Meanwhile, the group had hit a snag in their plans. The tunnel diverged here and the two villains had split up. Fenwick had taken Celestria down the right path and Brittany wanted to follow him. However, Basil didn't want to let Fidget escape down the left path.

Finally, after some arguing, they split up. Tiffany went with Basil and Dawson after Fenwick while Brittany went with Holmes and Watson to rescue Celestria.

Basil lead the way confidently. "Now, Ratigan will not escape me. I will see him behind bars yet!"

"Oh, give it up, ego hog," Tiffany said in annoyance. "I mean, could you be any cockier. As I recall, it was this behavior that got you trapped by Ratigan and then you were virtually useless. I mean, could you tone it down."

"Excuse me, Tiffany, but we will see what you say when I have defeated my old foe at last. Ratigan won't fool me again." And that is when the air filled with whizzing streamers.

Tiffany was instantly on alert. What she saw scared her. They were surrounded by all of Sherlock Holmes' old foes. They must have broken them out of prison before Grayson took back control. This was not going to bode well.

"Ah, Basil, how are you?" said a familiar voice said from the shadows. It was Ratigan. "I must say that you are on time this time Basil. I guess you're actually improving. I'm shocked."

"Ratigan, you are a slimy, disgusting sewer rat," Basil said. "Oh, and I am so sorry I have to remove you from your new home here. I know how much it suits you."

"My new…" Ratigan fell silent as he realized what Basil meant. He took several moments to calm the anger rushing through his veins. He was not going to let puny, little Basil get the better of him.

"But, Basil, don't you see," Ratigan said. "I've won. Right now, your other friends are walking into a trap. Then, Moriarty and I will be rid of you and Holmes forever."

Basil looked shocked and then hung his head in defeat as Ratigan and the other criminals began to laugh, all at him. He felt like a failure. He had thought he was going to do it this time without Ratigan outwitting him.

The others tried to comfort Basil, but Ratigan separated them. He had learned from the past not to let them talk to each other. When he killed Basil and Dawson, they would both be gagged.

Meanwhile, on the right path, Holmes lead the way down the dark tunnel. Suddenly, they heard a hissing noise. Knock out gas, Holmes thought. He tried to cover his mouth, but it was too late. He heard each of his companions fall before the gas entered his nose and all went black.

_Here is the end of the Second last chapter, I hope. I will try to update soon._


	10. Resolution

_Here is the final chapter of this story, but I will probably continue for two more stories in the same area. I'll explain more at the bottom of the chapter. For now, enjoy this chapter…_

**Resolution**

Brittany groaned as she opened her groggy eyes. The last thing she remembered was the hissing of gas and then all had disappeared. It must have been knock out gas. She looked around to see Tiffany looking over her with some concern.

"They got us didn't they?" Brittany asked Tiffany, "I should have been more careful, but that never was in my personality."

"Relax, Brittany," Tiffany said as she helped kept her friend from rising, "that gas will have made you weak. You're the last one to wake up."

"What about Watson?" Brittany continued to glance around the hideout. "He's a robot. Gas should not have affected him. And what is that giant hourglass supposed…"

Helped Brittany sit up, but had to stop her friend from standing. "They threatened you and Holmes if he didn't surrender. They have him locked up behind us using a magnetic field to keep him from moving around much."

"Tiffany, why is everyone else inside that giant hourglass?" Brittany asked as her voice rose an octave. "And where are Ratigan and Moriarty?"

"Why, right here, of course, miss," said Moriarty as he walked up behind her. He then approached the giant hourglass which was a several feet away. "And here comes Ratigan now."

Ratigan walked around from the other side of the hourglass with a gleeful expression and an evil gleam in his eyes. Brittany expected him to start foaming at the mouth, because he looked that crazy.

"Let them go, Moriarty," Holmes said. "It's me and Basil you want. The rest of them are not a threat to your plans."

"Oh, but I'm afraid that is quite impossible, Holmes," Moriarty said, amused. "You see, I need Tiffany to access the nanobots plans and Brittany to upgrade them. As for Dawson and Watson, I cannot run the risk of letting them go. Watson memory is easily erasable, but Dawson…"

"You fiend!" Dawson yelled through the thin, but durable glass that encased them. "When we escape, you will regret your evil deeds here."

"Oh, I don't think I will," Moriarty said confidently. "The only thing I will regret is not being able to turn you all to crime, but it is too risky to wait for the updates that Brittany will make to the system. Now, of course, I'm sure Ratigan is just dying to explain his little contraption here."

"Oh, yes," Ratigan said cheerfully. "Now, let me tell you of your destruction. You see, this hourglass has sand in its top portion. When Moriarty activates this deathtrap, the sand will start to fill 

up the bottom of the hourglass. It will fill up to your necks. Then, the water at the top of the hourglass will be released, effectively trapping you all in the sand. Then, the scorpion will be released onto the sand and the fun will begin." He began to cackle evilly.

No one spoke for several moments. Basil was too depressed to even care what was going to happen to him. Dawson was too appalled and so was Watson, who had heard then entire monologue. Even Tiffany, who was herself a criminal back home, thought that he was insane. This was old news for Brittany. Having watched the movie, she knew that Ratigan was a megalomaniac.

It was Brittany who broke the silence. "Where is Celestria, Moriarty? What have you done to her?"

"Oh, we have done nothing to Celestria…yet," Moriarty said. "She'll be fine as long as we have both your and Tiffany's cooperation in our plans. Don't even think of trying to escape, or she will pay the price and I know how much you two care for her."

"That last part is debatable," Tiffany muttered under her breath so Brittany wouldn't hear. She knew that, though Brittany thought Celestria was a galactic pain in the butt, that she was still Celestria's friend. They would not try to escape.

Laughing evilly, Ratigan pushed the button and stood close to the glass to watch his foe's final destruction. Moriarty moved up too. Inside the glass, Basil was sighing as the sand began to cover his knees.

"Basil, you've got to snap out of it," Dawson said to his friend. "You can't let Ratigan win like this. We can still escape if you can just help us think of a plan."

"Oh, don't bother, Dawson," Holmes said as he shot Basil a dirty look. "This incompetent is not worthy of being a detective. He is overly emotional and egotistical. If he wants to die, then let him."

Dawson caught the wink that Holmes sent his way. Putting on an angry, frustrated voice, he said, "Basil, if you won't even try then why don't we just pile up the sand around ourselves so we can be done with it."

Then, to everyone's surprise (everyone except Brittany and Dawson that is), Basil began to laugh. "That's it! We'll pile up the sand in the center of the hourglass. We can plug the hole and stop the sand from coming down through it. Dawson, you're a genius."

"Come on, then," Holmes said. "We've no time to lose. At the rate the sand is going we won't be able to shift it in a few moments." As he said this, the sand was rising above their waists.

Brittany watched with renewed hope as the three shifted the sand as quickly as they could. It only took a few moments to block the hole that was depositing the sand. The three cheered…until they noticed that Ratigan did not look angry, but looked even more cheerful than before.

"I would like to thank you both, Dawson and Holmes, for restoring Basil's confidence to him with this little idea of yours," he said. "After all, it brings me joy to be able to defeat my enemy one last time."

"What do you mean, Ratigan?" Holmes asked as the hope disappeared from his eyes. "You have a backup measure in place?"

"He doesn't, but I do," Moriarty said from behind Ratigan as he pulled out a small remote. "You see, Holmes, I figured that you would find a way to halt the trap's progress so I had a few extra things put in. After all, we wouldn't want to spoil Ratigan's fun."

Moriarty pushed the button and the hourglass began to shake. "He has a mini-earthquake thing or whatever you call it under there!" Brittany exclaimed and as she said this, the pile of sand spread evenly out and the rest of the sand fell, effectively covering all three of them. Then, the three of them held their breath as the water fell over them, soaking them to the bone.

Brittany watched all this with an outward look of no emotion. The truth was, she was thinking. Ratigan and Moriarty had made one final error; they had turned their backs to Brittany and Tiffany. Well, Brittany didn't care what they threatened her with—Celestria could take care of herself—she was going to stop them. She took out the potion and added the final ingredient.

Ratigan had been looking in glee at the fate of his 'former' enemy. The effect of the potion wiped that silly little smirk off his face. He gasped as he realized that he was floating in midair. "This is impossible!" He yelled to himself, "The Earth's gravitational pull should keep us grounded!"

Not knowing that Brittany had completed Celestria's potion, Tiffany yelled, "It's the loss of the Universal Balance. We've been trying to tell you, but you wouldn't listen."

"This is terrible!" Brittany said, "This is going to wreak havoc with the planet's stability. We need Celestria to fix this. We need her NOW."

Meanwhile, Moriarty watched in horror as the hourglass slowly moved over towards his computer. A thing of that size would crush it and it would take months to gather all the information again. Luckily for Moriarty, gravity was restored at that point—or should I say unluckily?

At the moment gravity was restored, the hourglass fell to the floor and the glass shattered. This left Holmes, Dawson, and Basil encased in wet sand. Dawson was too shocked to move, but—luckily—Holmes and Basil weren't. They were out of the sand in a minute.

"Watch out for the scorpion," Brittany called over to them. "It probably got out too."

"It's dead," Basil said. "Somehow, the stress of the lack of gravity made it sting itself."

Moriarty turned to Brittany and Tiffany with a serious look on his face. "So you really were telling the truth about the Universal Balance thing. Why else would this happen now?"

"That's great!" Brittany said, "now we can restore peace. With you on our side it'll be a cinch."

"Yes, and I know exactly how to restore the peace so that your Celestria will finally restore your balance and stop our imminent destruction," he pulled out a gun and aimed it at Holmes while Ratigan did the same with Basil. "If they are dead, then there is no conflict."

"But that's not what I—" Brittany tried to say, but was cut off. "We will stop you two if you want to fight us. All conflict causers must be gone."

Brittany looked over at Holmes and Basil, who seemed to be frozen by the illogical statements of the villains. Dawson didn't know what to do. Brittany and Tiffany were contemplating whether they could use their powers in time to save the two detectives.

"Stop!" yelled a voice from the shadow, "you cannot do this or all is lost!"

"Celestria!" Brittany turned to face the sorceress. "Wow! You just escaped from one of the most cunning villains ever. I mean, can nothing hold you."

"That is not important," Celestria said. "What is important is that you two villains are about to make a big mistake. For me to restore the balance, either you must all work together or anyone who will not work with one side is subdued."

"Well, you are going to all work with Ratigan and I then," Moriarty said. "Otherwise, your beloved detectives are history."

Suddenly, Moriarty was tackled by none other than Lestrade. They were all surrounded by inspectors and police from New Scotland Yard. "Moriarty, you're under arrest. And this time, your little pals in crime won't be here to save you. We booked them a while ago."

"Well," Brittany, "it looks like you'll be working with us instead, Moriarty. And let me just say one thing; Lestrade rocks. This is what happens when you continue to underestimate a dominant female like her."

"Ahem!" Celestria made her way over to the group. "I think it is almost time to send everyone back and fix the balance. Of course, we will send everyone back first, and then I will fix the balance to be sure that no more problems occur."

"Uh, Celestria," Brittany said, "If you're going to do it, you'd better do it quick. Moriarty and Ratigan are not going to just sit by and let this happen. It would totally ruin their world domination plans."

"Relax, Brittany," Celestria said calmly, "I cannot send you all back until you all know the rules of how this works."

"Oh, Celestria, give it a rest," Tiffany said. "Even I know how this works. We are each sent back to where you fetched us from…wait, what were we doing before we came?"

Ratigan had gone pale. "You mean I go back to Big Ben…"

"Ratigan, you must go back," Celestria said. "Whether you live or die, it must be decided there. Now, let us begin."

Celestria began to chant, "_Amito pugnacitas etiam remitto gens domus." _

They all began to glow as the power of the stars wrapped around them and began to draw them into the transport world between the universes. Then, Ratigan grabbed Brittany and Tiffany. He pulled them away from the gate beckoning them towards the one that was drawing him in. As they hit the gate, Tiffany finally broke free and disappeared. Through the gate Brittany and Ratigan went.

_And that is the end of this story. I know you are not happy with the cliffhanger, but I am turning this into a trilogy and I don't think Ratigan would submit to a death by returning to his fall from the clock tower. Besides, I like writing with Basil and Ratigan. Holmes and Moriarty will make an appearance later, but it will be different circumstances. I won't give away any more. Bye._

P.S. I know the title is ironic, but a true one would have given away too much.


End file.
